Life

The 6 Elements of a Perfect Swim Stroke

A systematic approach to enhancing your swim technique.

by Kathy Alfino

Over the years, I've heard some pretty weak arguments when discussing the importance of swim technique. It's true that making significant gains in the pool is difficult when we spend the majority of our training sessions working on our bike and run techniques.

Swimming improvements, however, are often just a few technique sessions away. The change needs to occur in your mind before it transfers to the water. As a coach and lifelong student of swimming and triathlon, I know that a more efficient swim does make an impact on your bike and ultimately your run, so I use the following approach when working with triathletes to make gains in the water.

1.Body Position: It all starts here. Before you start thinking about all the other aspects of the swim, you must have proper body alignment in the water. Don't make the mistake of thinking your wetsuit will correct body balance. Learning to swim faster starts in a pool and you will become a better swimmer by starting to learn how to get your body balanced properly in the water.

Cues to look for:Head, hip, and feet positioning. Are they in alignment? Is the body long?

How to improve:Through a series of drills designed to promote proper body alignment. The athlete needs to be able to identify when they aren't in position and how to self-diagnose and correct this before moving on to the next step.

2.Hand Entry: If the hand does not enter the water properly then your chances of getting a good purchase of the water up front is significantly diminished.

Cues to look for: Are the fingertips entering the water before the wrist and elbow? Are the hands entering the water directly above the shoulder without crossover on both sides? After the hand enters the water, where do they set up for the catch? Does the hand stay below the elbow at all times? Are the elbow, forearm, wrist, and fingertip in alignment? Most triathletes hand entry remains too close to the surface of the water and does not allow for a proper catch of the water. Often I see athletes "scoop" their fingertips up to the water surface, essentially putting on the brakes. The hand entry should set up in line with the shoulder approximately four to six inches below the surface of the water.

How to improve: By recording and breaking down video of the athlete, along with on land demonstrations and drills.

3. Timing: After body positioning and hand entry is fixed, the next focus area is the timing of the pull. When does the lead hand start pulling in relation to the recovery arm? This is one of the biggest mistakes I see with novice swimmers. The lead hand/arm will drop or begin to pull too early and "push" the water down. This puts the body out of alignment causing unnecessary drag.

4. The Catch and Stroke: The next step becomes the purchase or catch of the water and the stroke. The goal is to grab hold of the water and pull the water back behind you (not push down- this causes excess bubbles). This is accomplished with the hand and forearm. Many people talk about early vertical forearm but few actually know what it means or how to achieve this.

Cues to look for:Assuming the entry and timing are correct the next step is the set of the elbow. Setting the elbow and getting the fingertips to point to the bottom of the pool without flexing the wrist creates early vertical forearm.

How to improve: There are several different cues I give swimmers. "Keep the elbow on the outside of the body", "think about placing your forearm over a brick wall or Swiss ball and pulling back." Envision railroad tracks running along the outside of your body and paint brushes taped to your hands. Your goal is to paint stripes on the tracks.

5. Breathing: The biggest mistake I see is poor timing of the breath and over inhaling. The important step is to exhale, to get rid of excess CO2. You only need to take in as much air to get you to your next breath. Most triathletes inhale enough air to last 20 to 30 seconds when the time between strokes is less than five seconds. The next mistake I see is exhaling at the wrong time. Athletes will often wait to exhale until they have turned their head to take a breath. This leads to incomplete exhalation and increases shortness of breath. In order to get air in, you must exhale all your air out in the water prior to turning your head for a breath.

Cues to look for: To maintain proper breathing, the head turns to the side which has just stroked. The lead hand stays pointing forward, or extended so you maintain balance. This is where athletes will rush their stroke, the lead arm will begin to pull, usually down, and in order to maintain balance they lift their head for air. One side of the goggle should remain in the water, the head should turn, and air is taken in by sucking air in through the top of your mouth. The head turning creates a small pocket which allows you to grab air. Do not allow the head to turn up to the ceiling. The head should turn to the side of the pool in a quick motion. Make sure you turn the chin as opposed to lifting the face and then turning. The head must remain still at all other times during the stroke. This will maintain proper alignment with the spine during breathing. The flexibility of the neck, shoulders, and chest are key for proper head rotation.

How to improve: A combination of on land demonstrations and video is used to identify and correct errors. I often have the client stand in one place, bend at the hip with their face in the water and practice the timing of the exhale, inhale while stroking. From the pool deck, watch for a little outward spray of water from the mouth area as the swimmer turns to take their breath—this is a classic sign of late exhalation. Over rotation will lead to cross over and scissor kick.

Drill: Belly to the wall, Kicking without a kick-board, taking a stroke to breathe.

6. Arm Turnover: While the athlete is focusing on the steps above, we often work on maintaining a stroke count of less than 20 per 25 yards. This allows the athlete to develop the proper timing of the pull and catch phase ie: keeping the extended arm out until the recovery arm has reached eye level to begin the pull. Unfortunately, this can also lead to over gliding and a dead spot. Once proper swim technique is mastered, it is important for the athlete to now focus on an increased stroke rate while maintaining proper form and stroke length. Gliding is great but to get faster we must have a faster stroke rate or turnover.

Cues to look for: The goal is to identify a stroke rate the athlete can maintain which produces the fastest times for a certain distance or distances. Let's face it—it does you no good to have a stroke count of 12 per 25 yards if it takes you 40 seconds to swim. Most triathletes pay very little attention to stroke rate. We pay attention to cadence when running and cycling but not to turnover in the pool.

How to improve: Count your strokes and then monitor the stroke count while completing a specific distance. The athlete will often note an increase in heart rate and fatigue as they move from 18 strokes to 21 strokes per 25 yards. Take this step slowly—moving from 18 to 19 strokes and maintaining 19 strokes for 25 yards to 200 yards. Fixing this issue is a lot of about awareness and self-monitoring. You will eventually find your sweet spot when your arms are in constant motion while maintaining proper form.

Dramatic improvements to your swim stroke can be made in as simple as three to five sessions. It's crucial to only focus on one or two topic areas per session. Repetition of the drills will aid in muscle memory and make your next swim session significantly easier than the last. All you need is a little focus to bring your swim form up to speed.

Kathy Alfino is a four-time IRONMAN World Championship qualifier and an IRONMAN Certified Coach with a nursing degree and a master's degree in Exercise Physiology and Cardiac Rehabilitation. She is also the co-owner of Mile High Multisport.